


Bedroom Confessions

by ObsidiansChild



Series: The Reformation of Eliot Waugh [3]
Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:07:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24488725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsidiansChild/pseuds/ObsidiansChild
Summary: A bit of drama in the continuation of this series.
Relationships: Alice Quinn/Margo Hanson/Original Male Character, Margo Hanson/Josh Hoberman, Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Series: The Reformation of Eliot Waugh [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1719526
Comments: 7
Kudos: 84





	Bedroom Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is a one shot, and it takes place about ten months after the ending of the original story. Margo and Eliot are near the end of their third year. Nothing will make sense if you read it as a stand-alone. There is no smut (again), but I promise there will be more! And if you read this series and think "well, why didn't she write about THIS?" feel free to shoot me an email at oxrosesthornxo@aol.com (don't tease me, the email is over 20 years old), or find me at Tumblr @ obsidianschild. I'd love to hear suggestions. Thanks for reading!

_ Eliot _

Eliot was propped up against Margo’s many pillows that night as he sat in her bed, her head in his lap. Netflix had stopped to ask if they were still watching not long after Margo had blurted out her confession, right before the tears had started. She’d apparently cried herself out now, but Eliot didn’t know what to say. Instead, he fidgeted with the large opal ring Quentin had given him for their one year anniversary, the weight of it still a bit new on his finger. This wasn’t the appropriate situation for petting her hair and telling her she’d done nothing wrong. In all honesty, he was trying not to be pissed she’d confided in him. 

“You have to make a decision,” he finally spoke, keeping his voice neutral, quiet. “I can’t… I can’t keep this from Quentin. You can’t ask me to.”

“I know,” she replied, her voice raw. “I just don’t know how to do this.”

“It’s not like you’ve never dumped someone.” She flinched at that against his leg, and Eliot felt like a monster. “Margo…”

“It’s a lot fucking harder when you care about them, El.”

He made a face she couldn’t see, equal parts frustration and pity. “Can you honestly say you do, though? You’ve been fucking Hoberman for half as long as you’ve been fucking them.”

“I… just kept thinking I’d stop? Like it was a fluke or something, except every time for a while. And with Alice and Joey... we never exactly put a label on things.”

“That is a thin fucking excuse, Bambi.”

“I  _ know  _ that. Fuck, could you be my friend for half a goddamn second?”

Eliot smoothed back the hair that had fallen over her face. “You know I love you, but it’s my duty to make sure you understand how badly you’ve fucked up here. Don’t act like I’m enjoying it.”

“Fine.” She sat up, flipping her hair over her shoulders. Her mascara was streaked in odd angles beneath her eyes. “He just. It’s not like I just jumped in bed with him the first chance I got, you know?”

“No, I don’t. Tell me.”

She took a deep breath, her dark eyes roaming around the room before settling on the comforter. “I guess it started on Q’s birthday, when I helped him carry all his nerd shit back through the portal. I was getting ready to head back and he got all excited and stopped me because he remembered I loved carrot cake and he had some left over in his kitchen. Who remembers something like that?”

Eliot gave her a flat, incredulous look. “You fucked him over cake?”

“No,” she sighed raggedly. “Just… we kept in touch after that. And… it’s like he knows that I’m the last person on earth that needs taking care of, but he still likes to try? With Joey and Alice, it’s… shitty but I always feel like they’re waiting on me to tell them what to do, or how to act. Like I’m the only one with a fucking opinion that matters. I care about them, but I get tired of being in charge  _ all  _ the time.”

“Well, can you really blame them? You kind of demand that be the case.”

“Well, maybe I wanted someone to challenge me on it, okay?”

“And you’re saying Hoberman does that for you?”

She nodded. “He’s… quiet about it, but yeah. Eliot... I think I love him.”

Her voice was thick with tears again, her eyes glassy as they met his. The words gave him pause, and it took Eliot a moment to collect himself. “Um. Okay. That doesn’t… justify any of it, though.”

“I know. I’m just trying to say it’s been new territory for me, and I think that led to a lot of fucking up on my part.”

“No argument, but… if that’s the way you feel, I think you’ve made your decision. You just have to deal with the hard part now.” He rested his hand on her knee. “And I can give you a day, but after that…”

She nodded. “I know. I’ll take care of it.”

*

_ The next morning. _

_ Joey _

The silence of Alice’s bedroom was only broken by the occasional sniffle or hitching breath as she rested her head against his shoulder. Joey wasn’t sure what to say, how to comfort her. He was upset too, but for entirely different reasons, most of them based on what the future would bring. Alice’s pain was firmly fixed in the present and had nothing to do with him.

It did hurt to see her this way, though, and he pressed a kiss to her temple, relieved when she reached for his hand, entwining their fingers together across his thigh. 

God, what if he lost this?

It was terrible and he was a fucking coward, but he’d been so content to live in Margo’s shadow, as long as it meant he could keep Alice with him. Sleeping with Margo had just been a perk for so long. With that over, what would happen? He’d never exactly felt like a third wheel in the relationship, but Alice’s interest in Margo had started everything, and now… 

Could he just go back to being Alice’s friend? Pretend his feelings for her hadn’t turned into something much more intense than that? Maybe with space, and a lot of time.

Or maybe not.

“You can be upset, you know,” Alice spoke softly. “You don’t have to be the strong, silent type for me. I know you better than that.”

Joey smiled, because she did. “I’m… it sucks, yeah. It was shitty of her, but… she didn’t mean to hurt us. She just fucked up. And I still want her to be happy.”

“Well, that’s a much more mature mindset that I’m currently able to take on,” she laughed bitterly.

“I know. I just… I think it’s just a little different for me. I’m just here for you, okay?” He stroked his hand down her silky hair, trying to commit the feel of it to memory, not knowing how many more times he’d be allowed to touch her this way. “Don’t worry about me.”

Alice sat up, looking at him in confusion, her eyes slightly puffy. “Are you saying you don’t  _ care?” _ Her lip trembled. “I mean, maybe it was just me, but I thought…” She looked away, obviously hurt.

“Hey, hey, hey. No.” He reached for her chin, gently guiding it back to face him. “I’m just…” Fuck, he had to say this, didn’t he? “I care about Margo, of course I do. But… everything I  _ need?  _ Is kind of right here.”

Alice’s forehead scrunched as she studied his face, and Joey couldn’t tell if she was still confused or mildly angry. He couldn’t really think past the fear his confession had unleashed in him. “Are you… are you saying you… that you…”

Joey nodded, wetting his lips. “Yeah. Uh. For awhile now.”

“But you never said anything?”

He sighed. “You wanted to be with Margo. I didn’t think… It’s shitty, but I figured if it was all I could have…”

Alice’s eyes widened with indignation. “Well. That  _ is  _ shitty,” she agreed. “Could you not trust me with the truth?”

“I just didn’t want to complicate things. I wanted to see you happy.”

“So,  _ your _ happiness doesn’t mean anything?”

“I’ve  _ been  _ happy, Alice. I figured saying something would just fuck it up, because I knew who you’d choose. And it wasn’t like I ever hated fucking you both. Or hiding from the fact I wanted something more serious, because let’s face it, that isn’t exactly my bag.”

She gave me a reluctant smile, looking annoyed by it. “I guess I can believe that, but you shouldn’t have made decisions for me; that’s not fair. I can’t say what I would have done at the time, but I should have been given the choice, don’t you think? A-And it’s a lot to think about  _ now, _ with everything, but…”

“I know, I’m sorry,” he told her, feeling fucking awful for dumping this on her. “I just didn’t want you thinking I didn’t care. I’m not… trying to force some kind of decision on you.”

“Don’t be sorry,” she told him, reaching for his hand again. “I just. l need some time? To move on. Adjust to this secret you’ve been keeping.” She said it scoldingly before her expression softened. “I-I don’t want to mess anything up, you know?”

“Yeah, of course. I can give you some space. You can… let me know? If you think you’d want that. Anything, with me.” It would hurt, but if there was even a chance Alice would choose him, he’d try like hell to give her what she needed.

She shook her head, a tiny smile on her lips. “Not space. I don’t need that. Just maybe we try not to fall in bed for a little while? I’m kind of used to you being around. And it’s not fair to ask that of you when I’m hurting over someone else, but… I’m asking.”

“Anything you need,” Joey promised, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

She gave him a bashful look. “Anything?”

He adored her. “Name it, Quinn.”

“Well. A giant piece of your gran’s pecan pie would really help right now,” she confessed, a playful light in her eye.

He chuckled, barely able to stop himself from leaning forward to kiss her. “I think we can convince her. Want me to start on the portal now?”

“Let me clean up a little first?”

*

_ Quentin _

Quentin and Eliot hadn’t managed to leave the bed that morning, though they both had been awake for well over an hour, talking and sharing cigarettes Quentin had tried to take things in a more interesting direction more than once, but Eliot kept fending him off, slapping at his hands and laughing.

“What?” Quentin finally asked when Eliot stopped him from climbing into his lap, growing a little turned on from the repeated refusals. 

“I’m waiting on a text,” Eliot explained, his hand flat against Quentin’s chest.

“Tell your other boyfriend you're busy,” he argued, pressing forward. Eliot let him just a little before pushing him back. 

“From Margo, dumbass.”

Quentin shrugged. “I stand by my statement.”

Eliot rolled his eyes, removing his arm and letting Quentin fall forward, catching him with his magic right before their foreheads cracked together, and Quentin gasped harshly. “Not. Funny,” he chuckled, his stomach taking a moment to settle from the shock. 

“Not trying to be,” Eliot quipped, moving forward the inch he needed to tug at Quentin’s lip with his teeth. “Think I could hold you here for the next hour? Might be hot.”

“Uh…”

Eliot’s phone vibrated against the nightstand; they both sighed. 

Quentin felt Eliot’s magic gently moving him, allowing him to relax onto the bed while Eliot reached for his phone. Quickly reading whatever had been sent to him, he returned it to its place and looked towards Quentin again. “Okay, time to talk.”

“About?”

Eliot shot him a guilty look. “I’ve been withholding information.”

Quentin’s brow furrowed. “Okay?”

“Margo needed some time to think. I didn’t want to lie to you, but she’s my best friend. Rules are rules.”

Seeing that Eliot was afraid that whatever he was about to confess was going to piss him off, Quentin took his hands. “So, you’re telling me now?”

Eliot nodded, keeping his gaze direct. “She’s been cheating on Alice and Joey.”

Quentin blinked, eyes widening. His gut rolled when he thought of Joey, and there was a little twinge for Alice, as well. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. Um, for a while. With Josh Hoberman.”

Quentin inhaled deeply. “Fuck. How long have you known?”

“Since last night. I told her I’d give her a little bit, but I wasn’t happy about it. I’m sorry, Q.”

Quentin released the anger he’d been prepared to feel, almost rolling his eyes in relief and frustration. “El, it was only a few hours. That’s not a big deal; I get it. So… did she?”

“Tell them? Yeah. It’s… over.” He squeezed Quentin’s hands. “Joey might need you around today.”

“Shit. Yeah, okay. But... Josh? Really?”

“Let’s not judge, baby.”

Quentin shook his head as he crawled over to grab his phone. “Not judging, just… it’s odd?”

Eliot tilted his head, considering. “Agreed.”

Unlocking his phone, Quentin found his ongoing text conversation with Joey, mostly full of inappropriate memes from the other man and ridiculous selfies they’d somehow gotten into the habit of sending each other.  _ “You want some company today?”  _ he typed out. 

Quentin lit a cigarette to wait for a response, and he was only halfway finished with it before his phone chimed.  _ “I’m with Alice, at Gran’s. Can we hang tonight? I’m freaking the fuck out.” _

Quentin huffed a short laugh.  _ “Sure, let me know. Bring pie?” _

_ “LOL. All my pie is for Alice today.” _

Quentin snorted softly, noticing the subtle arch of Eliot’s eyebrow afterwards, resigned to be left out of the conversation but not thrilled over it. He often got a little jealous over Quentin’s bond with Joey, but was aware he had his own with Margo that Quentin wasn’t a part of. 

_ “It’s not your pie, which makes that even nastier. But seriously, if there’s cherry and you don’t bring it back with you, you’re dead to me.” _

_ “CHERRY pie????”  _ was Joey’s response. It was quickly followed by a selfie of Joey, looking comically aghast.

Quentin tossed his phone aside. “I think he’s okay. He said we could talk later.” He caught Eliot’s eye as he glanced up from his phone. “Got any big plans today?”

Eliot shrugged. “Sunderland suggested I stop by the construction site for the new building. There’s a crew casting the framing spells today, she thought I might be interested to see how they do it.”

“Okay. Do you want company?”

Eliot smiled. “That’d be nice. If we take our coats, we could walk down to the river afterwards?”

Quentin smiled. “That sounds amazing; I bet it’s cold down there.” He loved the weather spells that usually kept the campus comfortable; it made things easier, not having to worry about checking the temperature before you dressed for class, or if a sudden thunderstorm was going to throw off your circumstances for a spell you’d been working on for days. But sometimes he missed the unpredictability of actual nature.

It was nice to have Eliot to himself for a while. It was his boyfriend’s final year at Brakebills, and his thesis was incredibly demanding. He was independently studying under Sunderland this year, and had also gained a mentor in the form of a non-binary architect named Wicke, who owned their own firm in Brooklyn. Wicke was in their late fifties and extremely eccentric, and Eliot hung onto their every word, hoping to intern under them after he graduated. 

They spent quite a bit of time at the construction site, Eliot studying the cooperative spells the crew cast with interest, his sharp eyes taking in the tuts used that caused the lumber for the interior of the building to arrange itself into a neat framework, room by room.

Quentin should have been expecting it, but wasn’t, and he jumped at Eliot’s side as the crew cast the Hammer charm immediately after all the lumber was in place, the sound of hundreds of nails pounding through wood echoing across the area. Eliot laughed at him.

They left once the framework was completed for the first floor, occasionally chatting as they crossed the campus before stopping at the edge of the wards to don their winter coats. Quentin flinched as he stepped through the syrupy thickness of the magic and was immediately hit with a bitterly cold gust of wind against his face. “Fuck, it’s freezing!” he said happily, wincing as he looked towards Eliot, whose curls were already dancing atop his head. 

They held hands as they approached the Hudson, Eliot claiming there could be ice hiding under the light dusting of snow beneath their feet. There was a fog hanging over the water, slightly eerie even in the bright daylight. 

The log they sometimes used to rest on was still there near the edge of the river, but was damp with melted snow. Quentin wasn’t really sure they could stay long enough to sit, anyway. But it was still nice to be there again. “We don’t do this as often as we used to.”

“Well, I used to use it as an excuse to get you alone,” Eliot chuckled, turning to embrace him beneath his coat. “Or to get you out of bed.” He shivered slightly from the cold and Quentin held him tighter. “You haven’t made me do that for awhile now.” 

“Don’t jinx it,” Quentin warned. He’d had his bad days in the past year, he always would, but nothing severe in a long while. There was always something that eventually dragged him out of the blackness of his thoughts: Eliot, Joey, Margo, therapy, helping the first years with battle magic, his second year curriculum... His plate was full these days, even when he felt like shit. 

They spent another few minutes there, standing close to one another, taking in the view and the freezing cold, but it wasn’t long before they were hurrying to escape back through the safety of the wards, where the air was mild and the wind little more than a breeze.

Back at the cottage, Eliot left him to check in on Margo in her room, leaving Quentin to study, and he lost track of time reading about Healing spells of all things until his phone chimed, startling him from his thoughts. 

_ “I’m outside with alcohol. No pie.” _

“Damn,” Quentin cursed in disappointment, but left the bed to grab his cigarettes before heading downstairs and outside to the patio. 

“Consolation gift?” Joey asked with a wave of his hand, gesturing towards a bottle of wine and two glasses on the table. 

Quentin picked up the bottle to examine the label. “I don’t know shit about wine, you know.”

“Yeah, but you’re still so fucking picky about it,” Joey teased. “It’s a merlot. Gran said it had ‘cherry notes,’ whatever that means.”

“Wait, you grandma sent me wine?” he laughed, taking a seat across from his friend.

“Yeah. She said next time she bakes, there will be a pie with your name on it. And this came from the good rack, so you better be impressed.” He said the last word around the filter of his cigarette as he popped the cork with his thumb, filling the two glasses nearly to the brim. He took a sip first before Quentin could lift his own glass, wincing. “Fuck, I hate wine.”

“Then leave it for me, asshole. There’s a full bar inside.”

“I don’t wanna get up,” he whined, leaning back against the chair and swinging his feet up onto the table. 

“Shitty day?” Quentin asked, trying to open the topic for discussion. 

Joey sighed, staring up at the stars. “I mean, yeah? I think getting out of here for the day helped Alice out, but it’s gonna take some time. I know nothing was official with Margo, but she’s never dated anyone before this. What a way to end your first relationship, right?”

“Yeah, it’s fucked. But what about you? Margo was… helping you work through some stuff, right?”

Joey’s mouth twisted a bit before he sighed. “For a while, yeah, but I eventually got over my shit. Enough, anyway.” His eyes met Quentin’s across the table. “I know we don’t tell each other  _ everything,”  _ he said, shifting a little nervously in his seat. “And fuck, I’m thankful for that because I don’t want to know half the shit you and Eliot get up to, but… I haven’t been honest in a really long time about some shit, and it all kind of just exploded in my face today. I’m kind of fucked up about it.”

Quentin took a large swallow of the merlot before setting it aside to light a cigarette. “Okay? I don’t expect you to tell me everything, you know.”

“I know, but this is something that it probably would have helped me to talk about. I just couldn’t own up to it. And I’m still having a hard time, because I’m pretty sure I’ve already fucked it up.”

Quentin wanted to ask what was left to fuck up; Margo had ended their relationship to continue another with someone else. “Alright, well, I’ll try to help. Whatever it is.”

He watched as Joey’s eyes darted around the patio, towards the side of the house, out onto the lawn and the surrounding tree line. “So, I’m in love with Alice.”

Quentin almost choked on the smoke he’d inhaled, blowing it out in a burst of air. “Um. I mean, I assumed you all had feelings for each other, but…”

“Not like that. Like the big, messy, fucking complicated kind. And… I have been for a while.” He laughed, sounding a little insane. “Like since a month in, probably?”

“Jesus, Joey.” 

“I know. And I… I care about Margo. But it was never like that with her. The only reason I was upset today was I knew it meant I was losing Alice. So… I kind of told her how I felt, or hinted at it? While she was crying over Margo.” He shook his head, looking pissed off at himself. “Who does that?”

“I doubt you planned it that way.”

“I didn’t plan it at  _ all.  _ But other than being pissed at me for hiding it from her, she’s… I think she wants to try, once she’s had some time to process all this… shit.” He waved his hand in a generic way, indicating nothing.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“I  _ want  _ it to be. And we had a good time today. She got a little upset a few times, but mostly it was good. I just… God, I’m an asshole, but what if she just plans to settle for me?”

“Joey,” Quentin sighed, frowning. 

“Don’t look at me like that. This, all of it, was because Alice wanted  _ Margo _ . She bailed and I offered myself like a fish on a fucking hook. And I shouldn’t even complain because I’ve been her second choice for like a year now! Fucking happily.” His head fell back against the top of the chair. 

Quentin took a slow draw from his cigarette. “I think… I think if she was settling, she wouldn’t have asked for time. Why would she need it? And maybe what I’ve noticed doesn’t matter, but Alice… she was constantly alone before you came along. The only thing that really got her involved with any of us was the investigation. And that didn’t even go well; Eliot hated her for a while. 

“And now, she’s always with you. Since the three of you got together, it’s been you and Alice. I barely see one of you without the other. And I never really thought anything of it, because Margo isn’t like that with anyone besides Eliot. But now, it seems kind of weird? From the outside, it’s kind of like you two were in a relationship, and… Margo just engaged in it. I mean, has she met your grandparents?” Joey shook his head. “And when you broke your arm that first week of battle magic. Margo told you to go to the infirmary, but Alice  _ took _ you. I mean, this may just scare you more, but she’s  _ been  _ your girlfriend. I think she just needs time to… heal. And commit to that.”

Joey looked like he might cry, so Quentin looked away, incredibly practiced at not witnessing vulnerability due to his maddening taste in men. He finished his cigarette and smashed the butt into the ashtray. 

“So. This didn’t fuck up anything with you and Eliot, did it?”

That brought his attention back to Joey, who was pulling another cigarette from his pack. “No, why would it?”

He shrugged. “I assume he knew. And I know if  _ you _ knew, you would have told me, so I jumped to a couple of conclusions.”

Quentin shook his head. “He didn’t know until last night. He told me as soon as Margo let him know she’d talked to you. And he still felt guilty for hiding it. El wouldn’t do that to you, Joey.”

“Sorry. I should know that.”

“No, I get it. There’s a lot of shit El would do for Margo, most of it morally questionable. That’s just not one of them. I know he acts all jealous and petty, but he does like you, you know.”

Joey chuckled. “It’s our game. And if I stop flirting with you now, I lose. So.” 

Quentin rolled his eyes. “Can’t have that,” he sighed. “Do you want to get back to Alice? I can finish the wine on my own if you do.”

“Nah, she said she was gonna read and head to bed. I think she was putting on a little bit of an act for me today; she needs time to be upset.” He pulled an already rolled blunt from the pocket of his shirt. “I’ve made plans with this. You?”

“I think Eliot’s holed up with Margo still, so sure. It’s not magic, is it?”

“Nope. This is Deer Park weed; ran into my old dealer when we took a walk earlier.” He grinned. “You should have seen Alice, she acted like the cops were going to start jumping out of the trees or something.”

As soon as Joey lit the blunt, however, Eliot stepped outside, looking weary and halfway annoyed. “Am I interrupting?” he asked, standing near the door in case he wasn’t welcome. 

Joey gestured to a free chair at the table, putting the blunt to his lips and rolling it between his fingers once it was lit, ensuring it was burning evenly before passing it to Quentin. Quentin took a careful hit from it, not really looking to get stupid, before he offered it to Eliot. “Yes, please,” the man murmured, plucking it from Quentin’s hand. 

“What’s wrong?” Quentin asked, lifting his feet to rest in Eliot’s lap. Eliot covered his ankles with his hand, leaning over to pass the blunt back to Joey before he sat back against the chair.

“I’m fine. Just an asshole, apparently.”

“Well, you usually don’t get super bothered by that fact,” Quentin teased, though his tone remained concerned. 

Eliot sighed. “Bambi just wants something from me I can’t force myself to give her at the moment. I got kicked out.”

“And what was that?” Joey asked, his eyes trained on the cherry of the blunt.

“Sympathy,” he replied evenly, and that got Joey’s attention, though he squirmed a bit under Eliot’s pointed gaze. Quentin could relate. When Eliot made it obvious you were in that small faction of people who had managed to garner his affection, it held weight. Because if Eliot cared at all, he never really did it half way. 

“Oh. Well, I’m… sure she feels like shit,” Joey replied in a sad attempt at casualness, passing the blunt along. 

“Of course, but it doesn’t really hold a candle to how she made you and Alice feel, so I don’t really feel up to comforting her right now. I offered to keep her company, to talk, but that’s not what she wanted. She portaled out for the night. Thank you, dear,” he said as Quentin offered the blunt to him again. 

The back door opened again, and the men looked to see Alice appear, looking a bit shy as she approached the table. “You look like a bunch of delinquents,” she teased them, walking to the last open seat. Quentin bit back a smile when she moved it closer to Joey’s side before sitting down. 

“I thought you were going to read?” Joey asked, an adoration Quentin had never quite seen heavy in his eyes as he watched her sit down. 

“Too quiet,” she replied with a wrinkled nose. 

Quentin felt Eliot squeeze his shin and met the man’s questioning gaze. He’d noticed the infatuation in Joey’s eyes, too. “Later,” Quentin mouthed, and Eliot pouted, but nodded in agreement. 

“Well,” Eliot drawled. “Not that we’re  _ not  _ delinquents, but I prefer to be called a derelict. And you’re the one choosing to keep company with us. That’s on you.”

“I guess it is,” she agreed, her eyes fixed on Joey as she grinned. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
